He called me about a half hour ago asking if I'd seen anything, since I'm home on Christmas break. He and his wife had been at work all day. Unfortunately I didn't see a damned thing. Was even out back throwing the ball for my dog for about twenty minutes late in the afternoon, and saw nothing unusual in his backyard.
I went over to lend some support. The cops were dusting for prints.
Apparently, they drove a van right into his chain link fence, through their car gate, right into his backyard, took off the back door and took their time with it. The vast majority of his guns were in his safes, and they didn't even try to get into them, but he had two revolvers in drawers which were stolen (favorites of his, it seems), a computer, a couple of game consoles, and a TV. Oddly, they left two shotguns that were in a couple of corners, very visible. Oh, and then they badly trashed the place just for fun. SOBs!
Really feel bad for them. Not to mention concerned for myself.
I have always made sure to own a dog of a breed that most people are deathly afraid of. In the past it's been German Shepherds and Dobermans, but currently the most feared dog is the American Pit Bull Terrier, and that's what my current best buddy is, as was my buddy that he replaced about eleven years ago. I hope the fear factor alone is enough, because he's a bit too old now to be doing actual battle with anyone and coming out unscathed, but Pitbulls have an almost supernatural ability to evoke terror in some folks (especially folks from the ghetto), so I'm hoping that will be enough, even at his age.
I sure wish I had seen them. Really pisses me off. I hope they're able to catch them and retrieve some or all of their things.
